Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to take this Adjournment matter.

In its five year plan for school building projects the Government, rightly, identified the need for a post-primary school in Lusk, County Dublin. Lusk is a fast growing area in my constituency of Dublin North. It has grown from a rural village to a sizeable town. There are a number of primary schools in the area. There is Rush and Lusk Educate Together national school, while the busiest school is Lusk national school. Hedgestown national school is located just outside the town. The need for a post-primary school is agreed and it remains to be decided who will be the patron.

The Minister has received two applications of which I am aware. One is from the vocational education committee, VEC, and the other from Educate Together. When will the Department make a decision on the granting of patronage and what criteria will be used in making that decision? The parents of more than 1,000 primary school children and more than 400 preschoolers in the immediate Lusk area, not including the outlying area of Rush, have given written consent to be added to the Lusk VEC campaign. These parents have declared their preference for patronage to be granted to the VEC which has a proven track record of multicultural and co-educational learning. Having been in the area and from meeting residents of Lusk, this appears to be the clear preference of the people of the town. Educate Together has developed well in the area, which we also welcome. We need choice in post-primary education provision, but we must also look at the express wishes of the community of Lusk. Having attended meetings and conducted research on the issue, the clear preference of the vast majority of people in the Lusk catchment area is that the Department grant patronage to the VEC in this instance.

I await the response of the Minister of State and thank him for coming to the House.

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this matter as it affords me the opportunity to outline to the Seanad the current position on the provision of new post-primary schools and the new arrangements the Minister, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, put in place in regard to the recognition of new post-primary schools.

The schoolgoing population has increased significantly in recent years and is expected to continue to increase in the coming years. It is anticipated that, at post-primary level, an additional 24,900 pupils will need school places by 2017, with a further 40,800 needing places between 2017 and 2024, based on the Department's statistics. The figures I have outlined indicate the situation at national level. The challenge for the Department is to establish in which locations the schoolgoing cohort will increase most significantly in order that sufficient school accommodation can be provided to meet demand. The Department is utilising a geographical information system, GIS, for this purpose. The GIS utilises data from the Central Statistics Office, Ordnance Survey Ireland, the General Register Office and the Department of Social Protection, in addition to the Department's own databases, and the local authorities. The Department has carried out a study of the country to identify where there will be a requirement for significant additional school provision at both primary and post-primary level in the coming years.

In June last year the Minister announced that up to 40 new schools were to be established within the next six years to meet our increased demographics. These consisted of 20 new primary schools and 20 new post-primary schools. Included in that announcement was a new post-primary school planned for Lusk, County Dublin, which is scheduled to commence in September 2013. The provision of this new school will greatly enhance second level provision for the area and the new school will provide accommodation for a long-term projected enrolment of 1,000 pupils.

The Minister also announced new arrangements for the recognition and determination of patronage of these new primary and post-primary schools. The new arrangements published by the Department provide for a balanced approach to allow applications to be made by prospective patrons for the establishment of schools. The criteria used in deciding patronage of the new schools place a particular emphasis on parental demand for plurality and diversity of patronage. Applications for patronage of the new second level schools to be established in 2013 and 2014 were sought by the Department from prospective patrons. Details of the applications received are available on the Department's website. Applications for patronage of the proposed new school in Lusk were received from Educate Together and County Dublin VEC. Departmental officials have assessed all of the applications received in line with the published criteria and a report has been prepared and submitted for the consideration of the new schools establishment group. The group will, in turn, submit recommendations to the Minister for consideration and final decision regarding patronage of the new post-primary schools in the coming weeks.

I again thank the Senator for raising this matter.

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State said a decision would be made in the coming weeks. Will it be made before the Houses goes into recess? Will the new schools establishment group, as part of the assessment, take into account the many letters of support from community groups and other schools in the area which have expressed their preference that patronage be granted to the VEC? Will the decision be made before the summer break?

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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It is my understanding it is hoped to issue a decision before the summer break. A significant element of the criteria used in deciding the issue of school patronage is consideration of local wishes regarding the patronage of a particular school. One would expect that to feed into the overall decision making process.